The Summit County Attorney’s Office has charged two people with murder for allegedly plotting to kill a man and dumping his body in Browns Canyon.
Reina Chavez-Sandobal, 41, and Francisco Santos-Morales, 31, were charged on Thursday with murder, a first-degree felony, as well as obstruction of justice, abuse or desecration of a human body, and three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the death of 46-year-old Juan Manuel Sanchez when his body was discovered near the intersection of Browns Canyon Road and Highview Road on March 26.
Sanchez was in a domestic partnership with Chavez-Sandobal, according to court documents. However, Chavez-Sandobal allegedly had a romantic relationship with Santos-Morales, too.
Investigators looked through Chavez-Sandobal’s search history on March 25 and noted her visit to a webpage for Tylenol PM Extra Strength shortly before 10 a.m. Later that evening, Santos-Morales texted Chavez-Sandobal to ask whether Sanchez would “drink it,” referring to a juice carton with six Tylenol capsules crushed inside.
Chavez-Sandobal said Sanchez had already ingested the drink, and Santos-Morales responded with a series of texts, including messages that said, “You’re not being overconfident, are you?” and “If not, I’ll have to kill you both,” according to court documents.
Approximately an hour after the text conversation started, Chavez-Sandobal asked if Santos-Morales knew of “a place in the mountains that is kind of far away.” The two then debated the benefits of an area near a lake, river or the mountains.
Around 10 p.m., three hours after the first texts between the couple, Chavez-Sandobal sent Santos-Morales photos of Sanchez asleep, as well as audio recordings of him snoring.
Santos-Morales then took a taxi around 11 p.m. to Chavez-Sandobal’s apartment in Midvale. He sent her a text at 11:18 p.m. that read, “I want to get this done already,” before letting her know he was at the front door at 11:21 p.m., according to the indictment.
A security camera near Chavez-Sandobal’s apartment captured the couple “carrying Mr. Sanchez’s lifeless body from Ms. Chavez-Sandobal’s apartment and loading it into a Honda Civic” around 1 a.m.
An hour and a half later, another security camera from a building near the Browns Canyon intersection recorded a vehicle stopping on the road for approximately seven minutes while “an unidentifiable number of people (removed) what appears to be a human body from the car.”
“Preliminary autopsy results indicated that Mr. Sanchez died of blunt force trauma to the skull and brain,” the indictment said.
Chavez-Sandobal reportedly called Sanchez’s family on April 1 and told them he was fine and they should not be concerned about him. His family said detectives had notified them of Sanchez’s death, and Chavez-Sandobal “immediately hung up the phone.”
In an interview with detectives, Chavez-Sandobal allegedly said Santos-Morales had struck Sanchez in his sleep and that her three minor children were in the home at the time of the assault. She then admitted to driving Sanchez’s body to Browns Canyon in her Honda Civic with Santos-Morales.
Investigators searched Chavez-Sandobal’s home and found a “blood-stained blanket” in the closet and a hammer in a laundry basket. Chavez-Sandobal told detectives that the blood on the blanket belonged to Sanchez.
She also said the couple had planned to kill Sanchez “for approximately one week.”
Santos-Morales told detectives a similar story, including details regarding how he “cleaned a blood-stained hammer in the bathtub and placed it in a laundry basket.” He said they had also placed swim trunks and a hat on Sanchez to cover his wounds.
Chavez-Sandobal and Santos-Morales are being held in the Summit County Jail without bail, as prosecutors consider them a “flight risk” due to the severity of their charges and lack of legal immigration status in the United States.
The couple is scheduled for their first court appearance at 10 a.m. on Monday.